In 1799, he had seized power in a coup d'tat in France and wanted to restore French glory in the Americas. explored the Louisiana Territory and points west. What's more, as described by Medium, the French ruler believed that a more powerful United States was better for France. At the time French leaders were preoccupied with the French Revolution and failed to suppress the rebellion quickly enough. Napoleon saw in the sale of Louisiana something he needed more than anything else cold, hard cash. From the French perspective, just why did Napoleon sell the Louisiana territory to the Americans? While Napoleon originally tried to sell the territory for $22 million, the two sides eventually agreed to a sale at $15 million. How was the Louisiana Territory acquired? True False. As told by Michigan State University, both of them were shocked when the French minister, Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, asked how much they would pay for the entire territory. Your email address will not be published. As the Library of Congress describes, Saint-Domingue was incredibly valuable. On March 10, 1804, France officially transferred its claim to the Louisiana Territory to the United States. Andrew Jackson. 1, 1967, pp. The Kingdom of France had controlled the Louisiana territory from 1699 until it was ceded to Spain in 1762. Today, the 31st parallel is the northern boundary of the western half of the Florida Panhandle, and the Perdido is the western boundary of Florida. Napoleon dreamed and yearned for a French colonial empire to rival the British. "Napoleon, Jefferson, and the Louisiana Purchase. Jefferson tasked James Monroe and Robert R. Livingston with purchasing New Orleans. How many amendments make up the Bill of Rights? Spain turned the territory over to France in a ceremony in New Orleans on November 30, a month before France turned it over to American officials. sold Louisiana Territory to the United States Marcus Whitman missionary family in Oregon Pennsylvania had a Whiskey Rebellion tariff tax on imported goods Cabinet President's team of workers Dolley Madison saved White House treasures Zebulon Pike explored the Louisiana Territory olive branch symbol of peace Francis Scott Key Throughout the second half of the 18th century, the French colony of Louisiana became a pawn for European political intrigue. It was even subject to a speculative bubble which ruined fortunes. [citation needed]. National Geographicpoints out that in modern dollars, the Louisiana Purchase would have cost $342 million. Ultimately, the French need for more money was a significant factor in Napoleons decision to sell Louisiana. What is the eagle on the Great Seal holding in his right talon? In 1803, the United States nearly doubled in size when it bought the Louisiana Territory in a deal that shaped history. Though Jefferson urged moderation, Federalists sought to use this against Jefferson and called for hostilities against France. This respite gave Napoleon breathing room in his failed attempt to recover Saint-Domingue. Ambitions ruined, the French forces admitted defeat and returned home. As detailed by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Americans believed that the acquisition and settlement of new lands to the west were critical to the future development of the country. As discussed in the Journal of Economic History, France had a historically bad reputation for credit and finance due to the upheavals of the French Revolution. [52] If the territory included all the tributaries of the Mississippi on its western bank, the northern reaches of the purchase extended into the equally ill-defined British possessionRupert's Land of British North America, now part of Canada. While Napoleon had grand plans for the Louisiana territory, those dreams were far off. History and Geography 807: The Industrial Nat, Social Studies American History: Reconstruction to the Present Guided Reading Workbook, Deborah Gray White, Edward L. Ayers, Jess F. de la Teja, Robert D. Schulzinger, Alan Brinkley, Albert S. Broussard, Donald A. Ritchie, James M. McPherson, Joyce Appleby, Creating America: A History of the United States. Critics in Congress worried whether these "foreigners", unacquainted with democracy, could or should become citizens. In this light the deal can be seen as a win-win between Napoleon and the United States. There was also concern that an increase in the number of slave-holding states created out of the new territory would exacerbate divisions between North and South. [44][42] With the bankers' help, the French and American negotiators settled on a price of 80 million francs ($15 million), down from an initial price of 100 million francs, a sum the Americans could not afford and the financers could not provide. Because of this favored position, the U.S. asked Barings to handle the transaction. Louisiana under Spanish control fared little better. With the failure to retake Saint-Domingue and the inevitability of renewed war between France and Britain, Napoleon refigured his political calculus. Besides, we may hereafter expect rivalries among the members of the Union. When it came to profit and geopolitical importance, Napoleon was far more interested in the Caribbean. However, the territory, like a regifted picture frame, was swapped among European powers. C. would have a hard time managing the land and needed the money for war in Europe. 22755. Copyright 2023 History in Charts | Powered by Astra WordPress Theme. [48], A dispute soon arose between Spain and the United States regarding the extent of Louisiana. The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory in 1803. Advertisement lollol The Louisiana Territory was sold to the United States by France on December 20th, 1803, for the bargin of less than three cents per acre. According to the Library of Congress, the Louisiana Territory was mainly ignored by the French government and remained unprofitable. Louisiana Territory Changes Hands In 1796, Spain allied itself with France, leading. [51] The dispute was ultimately resolved by the AdamsOns Treaty of 1819, with the United States gaining most of what it had claimed in the west. While 3-4 cents an acre was not a massive deal, from Napoleons perspective he received a large sum of money for land he had just received and had virtually no control over. It remained in Spanish hands until 1800, when Napoleon Bonaparte negotiated a secret treaty with Spain and took the vast holding back in exchange for tiny Etruria in Northern Italy. Since 1762, Spain had owned the territory of Louisiana, which included 828,000 square miles. So while a slave rebellion helped drive the Louisiana Purchase, the new territory was destined to become a place of suffering and exploitation for the thousands of slaves forced to work there.. The Significance and Purpose of the Treaty of Tordesillas. Following French defeat in the Seven Years' War, Spain gained control of the territory west of the Mississippi, and the British received the territory to the east of the river. What was one reason the napoleon sold the Louisiana territory to the united states 2 See answers Advertisement JaxonA One reason Napoleon sold it because he needed the money. From March 10 to September 30, 1804, Upper Louisiana was supervised as a military district, under its first civil commandant, Amos Stoddard, who was appointed by the War Department. Though viewed as of lesser importance than the colony of Saint Domingue (Haiti), Louisiana and its crucial port city of New Orleans was to play a large role in French colonial dominance.1. The Louisiana Purchase extended United States sovereignty across the Mississippi River, nearly doubling the nominal size of the country. Manifest destiny was in full effect. D. was forced to sell the land after losing a war to the United States. White House 3. In order to lessen the strain of direct taxes on the populace, the French government simply needed more money from other sources. Why is France sold the Louisiana Purchase to the US? Even in 1803, that was dirt cheap. Napoleon 6. They wrote an enthusiasticletter to Secretary of State James Madison: "An acquisition of so great an extent was, we well Know, not contemplated by our appointment; but we are persuaded that the Circumstances and Considerations which induced us to make it, will justify us, in the measure, to our Government and Country.". At the time of the purchase, the territory of Louisiana's non-native population was around 60,000 inhabitants, of whom half were enslaved Africans. France [64], The purchase of the Louisiana Territory led to debates over the idea of indigenous land rights that persisted into the mid 20th century. Aside from the obvious drive for conquest by Napoleon, he knew that when war started between the two countries, Britain would attempt to take Louisiana. The jewel of the French overseas empire was Saint-Domingue in the Caribbean, which is today's Haiti on the large island of Hispaniola. 730 Words3 Pages. France ceded the territory to Spain in 1762 in the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau. The island colony of Saint Domingue was the most profitable of all French colonies given its vast sugar plantations. As tensions in Europe continued to grow, the unprofitable territory seemed to be more of a liability than asset. The territory made up all or part of fifteen modern U.S. states between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. Jefferson ultimately came to the conclusion before the ratification of the treaty that the purchase was to protect the citizens of the United States therefore making it constitutional. [21] The Louisiana Territory was vast, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico in the south to Rupert's Land in the north, and from the Mississippi River in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west. If Napoleon's designs had succeeded, perhaps his decision to abandon Louisiana would be looked at in history as a bit more shrewd than it seemed at first blush. Southern Quarterlynotes, "What is often remembered as a remarkably 'peaceful' transfer of land was in fact predicated on events of enormous violence that took place in the Caribbean.". "[29] The sale of course was not "worthless"the U.S. actually did take possession. The Haitian Revolution began in 1791 and lasted for over a decade. When Monroe and Livingston were offered the opportunity to buy the entire territory, they could not help but be excited. The question of what to do with the territory brought out deep divisions along sectional lines and ultimately helped lead to the Civil War. [57] As states organized within the territory, the status of slavery in each state became a matter of contention in Congress, as southern states wanted slavery extended to the west, and northern states just as strongly opposed new states being admitted as "slave states." This land needed to be explored to see what the United States had purchased. The scene caused a servant to faint, and when Lucien lingered to try to argue the point, Napoleon said to his brother that if he opposed him he would break him like a snuffbox which he smashed into the floor. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was a temporary solution. On April 30, 1803, representatives of the United States and Napoleonic France conclude negotiations for the Louisiana Purchase, a massive land sale that doubles the size of the young American republic. The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805, [1] until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed the Missouri Territory. A group of Northern Federalists led by Senator Timothy Pickering of Massachusetts went so far as to explore the idea of a separate northern confederacy. The Louisiana Purchase was a significant event of monumental proportions in the history of the United States. When the United States found out that instead of Spain as their neighbor, it was to be France under Napoleon with imperial ambitions, the Americans feared that their access to the Mississippi would be cut off. Plans were also set forth for several missions to explore and chart the territory, the most famous being the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It takes a certain amount of chutzpah to think you can establish a global empire, and Napoleon Bonaparte is no exception. The resources and land from theLouisiana territory considerably helped the United States become the global power it is today.
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